Roscosmos further said, this week, the GCTC specialists are providing theoretical classes on the basics of astrogation, the basics of manned spacecraft control and the Russian language to the Indian cosmonauts.

US billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX company built the Dragon module that lifted off from the Florida spaceport on May 30, after days of delay. This was the first launch from US soil since NASA retired its space shuttle programme in 2011.

Elon Musk's Mars vision, morphed into a shake-up of the old space industry, and a fleet of new private rockets. Now, those rockets will launch NASA astronauts from Florida to the International Space Station -- the first time a for-profit company will carry astronauts into the cosmos.

The Directorate of Human Space Programme of the city- headquartered ISRO has sought proposals for 18 tentative technology development areas. Four Indian Air Force fighter pilots are currently under training in Moscow and are likely to be potential candidates for the first manned mission to space.​​